It’s pumpkin season and I’m sure you’re getting pumpkin recipes thrown at you left to right. Most of them are sweet, as we know pumpkin mostly in sweet form, but every now and then we’ll be pleasantly surprised because a delicious savory pumpkin recipe with come at us outta left field. Completely unexpected but totally welcomed. Take this Pumpkin Pizza for instance. It’s savory and it’s out of this world. An easy to make homemade pumpkin pizza sauce is what anchors this entire dish and makes it a bit unforgettable. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but pumpkin by itself tends to be rather bland actually. I mean, it’s got a little bit of a squash flavor (because it’s a squash), almost nutty, but other than that it’s pretty plain. The sweetness we usually associate it with comes from the sugar and of course pumpkin spice that are mixed into it for pies and cookies and cheesecakes. Because of this, pumpkin lends itself really well to savory dishes, especially this pizza sauce. The toppings like the chorizo, mushrooms, arugula and pumpkin seeds balance everything perfectly with the sauce, making it your new favorite Fall pizza flavor. Leftovers are great the next day, so If I were you, I’d make two pizzas. You’re going to want it. No, you’re going to need it.

It might officially be autumn, but I’m holding on to summer for just a little bit longer (try not to judge me too hard right now). In my defense, though, it’s only because LA hasn’t fully gotten the fall memo just yet. We’re tardy to the party. Sorry. Unfortunately, it’s still a little too warm for scarves and pumpkin spice lattes over here, no matter how much we don’t want to believe it. Lucky for us this means there’s still time for a late summer/early autumn recipe. We can handle it, I believe in us. I don’t think there’s ever a time when ice cream sandwiches aren’t the right answer, even when it’s freezing outside, and with that being said, these Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwiches are no exception. Homemade honey graham cookies, that taste exactly like graham crackers (except chewy), are sandwiched together with easy pumpkin ice cream. It’s like the epitome of autumn all rolled into one tasty frozen treat, that just happens to be two homemade cookies stuffed with ice cream. I’m definitely not mad about it this entire situation, and I hope you’re not either. Because the cookies are freshly baked, we’re taking a little help from the store and jazzing up ready-made vanilla ice cream. I’m sharing a quick and easy trick for semi-homemaking this recipe because it’s okay to cheat in the kitchen every once in a while. I won’t tell anyone if you don’t. Deal? Deal!

I’m baaaaaack! I’ve been gone for a few weeks (did you miss me?), putting the finishing touches to a special project that has taken me about 2 years to finish up. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am to share it with you all very soon. I can’t just yet though, but when the time comes, it’ll be amazing. You’ll cry, and then I’ll cry, and then we’ll all cry together some more. It’ll be magical. Everything I’ve ever dreamed of. I have been so busy focusing on this project, that I haven’t had much time for updating the site. I’m sorry about that. It’s been a long and painful 2 weeks without a new full recipe, and without creating a weekly distraction for you, believe me it pained me. I’ve missed it so much. Last week I did share a Croissant, Ham and Cheese Stuffing, just in case you didn’t catch it, but that was a shortened post so it doesn’t really count. It’s a great Thanksgiving stuffing if you’re in the market for one. Anyhow, now I’m back and I’m bringing you this irresistible dessert and/or breakfast that is perfect for the season. Did I mention how excited I am to be back?

I’m always so busy running around the days leading up to Thanksgiving, and especially super busy on the actual day, that I most often than not forget about making breakfast. Does that happen to you, or is it just me? It’s funny because I plan everything out for the big meal and I have it all mapped out meticulously, but for some reason year after year, I forget about making something for breakfast. By the time I remember, I’m knee deep in holiday cooking and my family is coming in and out of the kitchen asking if they can try something, anything. This year, however, I didn’t want to be unprepared. This year I waned to make sure to have something delicious and homemade ready to go for breakfast.

These Pumpkin Sugar Buns are everything a sugar bun should be; soft, flavorful and easy to whip up. If you can make and bake cinnamon rolls, you can definitely make these sugar buns with your eyes closed. The best part is that you can bake them the night before and then finish assembling them in the morning, right before you start cooking that turkey and making those sides. I like these sugar buns because they’re a bit more flavorful than regular sugar buns, thanks to the pumpkin and cinnamon. I’m all about cinnamon rolls with lots of cream cheese frosting, but sometimes we all just need a roll covered in cinnamon sugar, especially during the holidays. P.S. They’re not just for breakfast! They happen to make a great dessert as well. Bring them to your Friendsgiving party instead of pumpkin pie. Trust me, everyone will thank you for it.

I’m worse than those convenience stores that sell halloween costumes in August, or Christmas decor right after halloween. I complain about those stores all the time, and here I am already bringing pumpkin spice into the mix and it’s hotter than hot here in Los Angeles. As I type this I have the AC on full blast and it’s well into the evening. What is going on right now? I’m not about this kind of life. Summer isn’t even over yet and I’ve begun to force autumn down your throats. Sure it might not feel like fall right now and okay, maybe I am rushing things a little bit, but I have good reason to. Hopefully you’ll forgive me once you find out about what’s going on. The word GIVEAWAY will most certainly catch your attention. More so because I just capitalized it. It should catch your attention though because I myself love free things. More free things for everyone, is my motto.

I don’t host as many giveaways on here as I should, and I always tell myself, “Self, you should host more giveaways on the blog.” I then proceed to tell myself what a good idea I just had, and give myself a few pats on the back. But then I somehow forget about it, but that’s probably a good thing, because when I do remember to give stuff away, it makes it a lot more special. Don’t you agree? This giveaway happens to be special. Look mamma! I’m on the cover of a magazine! Well, not me but my work is, and that definitely still counts. That’s my big bundt (cake) right there on the cover. Isn’t it marvelous? Right there on the cover.

A few months back, way back when summer was just starting and it most certainly felt way too soon to think about, let alone talk about fall time desserts and pumpkin spice in general, I was busy brainstorming a few recipes for this magazine, “The Pumpkin Spice Handbook.” It’s the ultimate guide to the incredibly loved fall time spice blend. There’s over 100 recipes, that all use pumpkin spice in it, from savory to sweet. It’s all jam-packed into this amazing looking magazine. I myself have two recipes in it (humble brag) and I would love it if you snagged yourself a copy. Note: This Pumpkin Pie Cake isn’t one of the two recipes. This is one from the drawing board that didn’t make it in the issue. So you’ll definitely want to get the other two recipes I contributed. You won’t regret it. It’s on sale now and you can find it in Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart, CVS, Walgreens and most major grocery stores nationwide (basically all the stores).

Lucky for you, yes you reading this post, right at this very moment, I’m giving away a few copies to three lucky winners! Big shout out to the gracious editor, Elise Portale, for making this giveaway possible. All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me what your favorite fall dessert is (or savory dish for those without a sweet tooth). Three people will be picked at random on Saturday. My mom will pick the winners because she loves reading all of your comments anyway, so we might as well make her useful (kidding, mom). No, but really. Good luck! I’m sending you all positive vibes. I want you to win.

I think I might’ve mentioned once or twice on here (more like a billions times, really) how much I happen to love doughnuts. Just in case you didn’t already know this about me, I love them more than life itself. Cross my heart and kiss my elbow. They’re my all-time favorite dessert/breakfast/treat/midnight snack/reason for living. I don’t really care much for chocolate or ice cream or cookies or cake—I’m totally lying because I still love them all just as much—but doughnuts? Doughnuts are an entirely different story. Doughnuts are my one true passion in life. Doughnuts are my body and soul. I can eat them like no one’s business. Night and day. Day and night. Prepare yourselves if doughnuts are anywhere present and I’m not offered one. I’ll go crazy. Probably flip a table over and destroy everything in sight, like Godzilla. That’s what doughnuts do to me. Just a warning though, if you do offer me one I’ll probably eat them all, without shame, and without so much as a second thought.

This year I’ve dropped the ball on the pumpkin recipe game. I’m sorry. It’s not as strong as it has been over the years. Do you remember this delicious Pumpkin Mac and Cheese? Yeah, it’s sort of out of this world. The perfect autumn dinner recipe to blow people’s minds. What about these ridiculously fluffy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies? Are you having withdrawals yet? Then you should probably make a batch soon. Eating just one isn’t an option. This year however, I kind of forgot how much I love this season and how obsessed I am with pumpkin. It dawned on me the other day that I hadn’t posted a new pumpkin recipe all year. We’re halfway through October already, and there was no pumpkin spice anything to be found. I needed to take care of that right away.

These Pumpkin Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts sort of combine my three favorites; doughnuts, pumpkin and cinnamon. They’re so perfect I don’t know whether to eat them for breakfast before work, or as a snack in between meals, or even as a tasty dessert after dinner. It’s such a dilemma that the only logical solution I have is to eat them all day long. That way, I don’t have to fret too much about when is the right time to binge on doughnuts. The answer to which is, always. It’s always the right time to shove doughnuts in your face. I hope that’s the one valuable lesson you take away from me. Let’s get back to thinking up new ways to incorporate pumpkin into our lives. I’m not complaining.

It’s the day before Thanksgiving and we are all running around like mad people trying to check off items on our long to-do lists. The Pre-Thanksgiving tasks have begun. No amount of mental planning could have prepared us for all of this. Although our lists are nicely organized we cannot help but still feel overwhelmed and anxious. It does not matter how much time we spend mapping everything out, to the last detail, we somehow still do not feel super confident about all that goes into this big event. Everything that has yet to be done. From all that needs to be prepped, cleaned and cooked, to the table setting and anticipation of our guests’ needs. We have a lot to do in a short amount of time. Of course there are some of us who live for these moments. Big gatherings and celebrations where we can cook ridiculous amounts of food in a short period of time and not feel an ounce of pressure. Unfortunately, not all of us our lucky to be that way. For the most part, we fall into that percentage of people where preparing a big Thanksgiving feast just sounds completely daunting to us. We are nervous and worried that we will not be able to get everything finished on time. All the worst possible scenarios run through our heads, and we shudder at the thought that we might have forgotten something, so we run through our lists about twenty more times within the hour. Then the worst does happen. You are in the middle of cooking something and you realize that you are out of a certain ingredient, or that you completely forgot to get an item at the grocery store. That occurs even to the best of us. There is so much on our minds, it seems only natural that we will forget something, or that we thought we had a certain ingredient but come to find we ran out or were mistaken.

When those moments of panic arise, it is best to just relax. Nothing will get solved by panicking and getting upset. We must run through our options in our minds. Do without the ingredient? Use a substitution? Or go to the market for a quick trip and brave the madness with the rest of the forgetters and the last minute shoppers? Perhaps the ingredient is not that important and you can just omit it. I have done that before. In which case, just laugh it off and continue cooking without it. If the ingredient is important but you do not feel like putting your shoes and coat on, hopping into your car, driving to the market, braving the craziness of the last minute shoppers and the long lines at checkout, well then perhaps a substitution will work for you. Surely there is something in your pantry or fridge that will give your recipe the same taste or effect without going out of your way. To help you on your substitutional journey, here is a handy dandy holiday substitution resource put together by my friend Russell over at Chasing Delicious. It is an “informational potluck” with tips and tricks submitted by a variety of food bloggers and cookbook authors, including yours truly. And last but not least, if you cannot skip the ingredient all together or even find an adequate substitution for it, well then your last resort is to put on your brave face and go to the market. Go with your goal in mind. No fuss no muss. Walk in there like you own the place. Shoot straight for the aisle, grab your ingredient, and go pay. If you convince another brave soul to go with you, have them wait in line while you retrieve your item, that way you can get out even faster.

With all the planning and work we put into this holiday, or any holiday for that matter, we all fail to realize one thing. The holidays are not about impressing people, or busting our chops to try and make the “perfect” everything. Life is not perfect. Sometimes things do not go as planned and we need to accept that that is okay. Thanksgiving should not be stressful or overwhelming. Although at times, it seems inevitable when planning a big meal for family and friends. We want to impress and make a great feast that everyone will enjoy, but it is important to stop, take a step back, and breathe deeply. This day is about being around loved ones and enjoying yourself. It is about being thankful for everything around you. It is a day for appreciating those people that we do not get to see often and for giving thanks for the opportunities that have arisen and been given to us.

You can spend the entire day stressed, cooking all sorts of complicated dishes that will surely impress your guests. However, that does not sound fun at all. Or you can also just enjoy the day, stress-free and having fun. Laughing and playing games with your family and friends. Make easy, yet delicious, dishes that you have cooked countless times before. That way, you know it will definitely come out right. Aim for easy recipes. Dessert should be just as carefree and fast to whip up. One that does not take precious fridge space. For we all know how hard it is to arrange everything in the icebox, on this day especially. A cookie of some sort seems to fit the bill. Not just an ordinary cookie, no that will not suffice, but a seasonal cookie. One that brings together all those classic Thanksgiving dessert flavors into one tiny package.